[Correction: There were two Ming ships in the dock, so the number of ships captured was two, not three.]
When the lieutenant colonel reported the tragic news of the attack on Onda Port and the robbery of the treasure ship in tears, Colonel Tiago sat down on his chair, his whole body slumped.
"Who did it?" Cuban Governor Vieira was also confused. The Onda base was his defense zone, and he could not escape the blame for the hijacking of the treasure ship.
"It was a group of unidentified pirates with black sails. They took advantage of the strong wind last night and sneaked into Onda Bay." Lieutenant Colonel Tiago choked up and said, "We only saw two galleons of 500 to 600 tons and a super large sailing ship."
Tiago and Vitoria looked at each other suddenly, and at the same time thought of the three Ming sailing ships that escaped!
Isn't it just a giant ship of one or two thousand tons and two medium-sized galleons?
"What are the characteristics of those three ships?" the Governor asked hurriedly, "For example, their sails!"
"Oh yes, the shape of their sails is a bit strange. Although there are cross sails, they seem to be mainly longitudinal sails..." The lieutenant colonel recalled: "Also, the sails of the two galleons are black."
Because it was night, no one noticed the pirate flag that Xiao Zhuzi had hand-painted...
The colonel and the governor looked at each other again and saw shock in each other's eyes.
They encountered the three Ming Dynasty sailing ships again.
"No, it's impossible. How could they know the treasure ship was in Onda?" The colonel said, "Besides, their sails are white."
"It's not difficult to change the color of the sails." The Governor Li Zhongke said, "Maybe they just went to the port closest to Havana to vent their anger. It's a good thing that a blind cat has encountered a dead mouse."
Of course, the last sentence is a paraphrase of the Spanish 'Hasonadolaflauta', which literally translates to 'the whistle blew'.
"No, I don't believe it." The colonel ruffled his messy brown hair and said, "They are obviously coming for the treasure ship."
"Yes." The lieutenant colonel nodded in confirmation.
~~
By the next morning, the colonel had no choice but to believe it.
Because Lin Feng sent a messenger to claim responsibility for the attack the night before and demanded that the Spaniards immediately release all Ming people and the two captured sailing ships in exchange for the two treasure ships, the gold, silver and jewelry worth 4 million pesos on board, and the captured Spanish sailors.
"The Spaniards are never threatened!" said the colonel firmly.
"If you fail to meet the above conditions before noon today, we will sink the Santa Barbara outside Havana Bay. If you fail to meet the above conditions before 6 o'clock this afternoon, we will sink another ship, the San Marco!" The messenger who came to negotiate said in a stiff Chinese-style Spanish: "Then we will continue to look for new prey until you learn how to make an exchange."
Colonel Tiago was so angry that his face turned red. He had been in America for 20 years, but this was the first time he had seen someone dare to threaten Spain like this!
But after being persuaded by Governor Vieira, he quickly calmed down. How could he keep his penis hard when it was in someone else's hand?
To the Governor, those Orientals were not important at all, since the Viceroy's order was not given to him anyway. What was important was His Majesty's treasure ship, which could not be in trouble in his own jurisdiction.
Colonel Tiago was in a dilemma. He had to report to the viceroy and his majesty's treasure ship could not be lost. If anything went wrong, he would be in big trouble.
The governor advised him to make an exchange first. When the treasure ship returned, he could issue a wanted order and let the entire Kingdom of New Spain join forces to suppress these Ming pirates.
And this is not a threat, it’s just that the transaction is obviously in our favor, and only a fool would not do a business that can make a lot of money.
"That makes sense..." Colonel Tiago was finally convinced and reluctantly agreed to exchange with the Ming people.
But I’m still angry…
~~
Two hours after the messenger left, the three Ming sails that had escaped a few days ago reappeared outside Havana Bay, followed by two damaged Spanish galleons.
Colonel Tiago stood on the fortress at the mouth of the bay, looking at the two broken ships that were the treasure ships he was escorting, and felt his heart broken.
"I'm so stupid, really..." Tiago raised his lifeless eyes and murmured, "I only knew that cannonballs have no sight during battles and might accidentally hit the treasure ship; but I didn't know that the Ming people would actually take the initiative to come to our door. I'm so stupid, really, that I was separated from the treasure ship. If I had known earlier, I might as well have kept it with me..."
Governor Huelva, who was standing by, saw that he was a little crazy, and tried to persuade him: "Who would have thought that two well-armed sailing ships could be hijacked so easily? It was all an accident. If you pay more attention to your precautions next time, nothing will happen."
As he said this, he waved his hand, and the Spanish soldiers opened the cages, released the Ming prisoners, and made them line up at the dock.
The Quanzhou and Gaoyou Lake were also towed out of the dock and parked next to the pier.
According to the agreement, Spain would first release half of the Ming prisoners, and the other side would first return a treasure ship. After Spain counted the gold and silver and the Ming people checked the ship was safe, the next step of the exchange would be carried out.
So after the first batch of prisoners boarded the Gaoyou Lake and sailed away, the remaining 180 people had to wait until the afternoon to be released.
The locals came upon hearing the news and offered wine and food to the oriental guests, as if they were seeing off their heroes. The girls rushed out of the crowd and kissed and hugged their lovers who were about to part or say goodbye forever.
One of them was a handsome monk with a shiny bald head. He was kissed and hugged forcefully by several beautiful, graceful and elegant Cuban girls. He looked helpless, but he seemed to be enjoying it a little.
"Master, have you broken your vows?" a companion asked jokingly.
"No, no, I don't have that kind of worldly desire." The handsome monk said with his hands clasped together.
"They said you live in a brothel every day and don't pay." Everyone came up and said, "It's been more than a month since we last met. The ladies here don't understand poetry and songs. We can't say we are exchanging art anymore, right?"
"It's more like exchanging body fluids." The sailors burst into laughter.
"Don't talk nonsense, the master is making a donation of his physical body."
"Whatever you think." The monk didn't show any shame or embarrassment on his face. He always had a faint smile on his face, which was holy and mysterious.
"After the rain, the breeze does not reach the pond, and the willow branches still brush the silk in the mirror. I lean on the railing only to share with the birds and fish, and only when I know the bright moon under the water." He recited a poem elegantly and then continued to say goodbye to the girls affectionately.
The companions were all ashamed of themselves and thought that maybe we were too self-critical and thought Master Xuelang was dirty. Yes, he was a great monk, the second best monk Xuanzang, how could he be so lustful as an ordinary monk?
Yes, this naughty monk was fooled by Zhao Hao and became the instant monk Xuelang.
In order to get rid of this annoying guy, Master Zhao made a big fuss about the religious crisis in China to Xuelang, saying that foreign religions such as Hinduism, Islam and Chizhitan have all evolved, while the local Buddhism and Taoism are just lagging behind, and if this continues, you will die sooner or later.
He also inspired Xuelang with the great deeds of Tang Xuanzang and advised him to board the ship and join the round-the-world voyage, to go to the countries ruled by the three major religions to experience it firsthand, to have a good discussion with their clergy, and then to come back and reform Buddhism, to suppress those three religions and revitalize Chinese religion. Wouldn't that be more effective than building a hundred temples?
By then, there will naturally be believers who build thousands of temples. This will be a great achievement for the Buddha... oh no, merit, won't it be that great?
At that time, Xuelang was also deeply shocked by the confrontation with the Jesuits and felt that he had to go out and learn some lessons. So after receiving a very long poem from Zhao Hao, he boarded the ship with great satisfaction.
But he thought he would be able to go back in a few months. Who would have thought that he would be gone for two years and there is no sign of his return! Do you think this is something a human would do?
So even monks need some consolation. Besides, consolation doesn't necessarily have to be that. Anyway, Xuelang didn't break the precepts, so he has a clear conscience!
~~
At five o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, the Spaniards finished inspecting the second treasure ship, and the Ming crew also finished inspecting the frigate "Quanzhou".
Xuelang and the second group of released people boarded the Quanzhou, bid farewell to the local people in tears, and slowly left the harbor.
The treasure ship, the San Marco, also driven by Spanish captives, sailed into the harbor with the wind.
Watching the San Marco's back gradually disappear into the distance, the crew members all sighed.
Before, they just wanted to get their people back quickly, without thinking too much. Now they realize how much wealth has slipped away from them...
"Wipe your saliva!" Their captain swallowed hard and said, "It's not like these two boats won't come out!"
"Ah!" The crew members understood immediately, their blood boiling and cheers came one after another.
"Madam, are the conditions for privateering still valid?" Fleet Police Chief Ge Li asked with a stiff upper lip. There was no way, the police department always had to play the role of a nuisance.
But he didn't dare ask Lin Feng, not everyone was vying to enjoy the whipping.
"Do you think they will give up after suffering such a huge loss?" Zhang Xiaojing stroked the railing, glanced at him nonchalantly and said:
"Do you think we should just give up after suffering such a huge loss?"
"I see." Director Ge thought to himself that his wife was still superior. No matter what she wanted to do, she could always convince everyone with good reason.
~~
As soon as the exchange was completed, the Cuban Governor's Office immediately issued a black warrant, ordering all ports under its jurisdiction to be on alert and to open fire immediately if the Eastern Fleet was spotted. All ships were also required to "open fire upon contact"!
Colonel Tiago also sent a ship to urgently report to Mexico, requesting the capture of the Ming fleet throughout New Spain, vowing to trap these criminal oriental villains in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea!
However, a whole month passed, and there was still no news of the Ming fleet, which had recovered to its size of five ships. The Spanish sent out countless reconnaissance ships, but could not find any trace of them.
Those Ming people seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.
This always made Colonel Tiago nervous, but he could not wait any longer because according to the royal order, all treasure sailing ships must assemble at the port of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic before June and be escorted back home by the Atlantic Fleet.
It's already the end of May, if we don't leave now we will be late...
He had no choice but to discuss with the Governor of Cuba and merge the two galley fleets into one, adding several caravels as supply ships and light galleys as reconnaissance ships, to form a powerful escort force to escort the four treasure ships to Santo Domingo.
ps. The next update will be provided soon.